Indigenous
by the all consuming void
Summary: Before the Skypeople came, the Na'vi were not alone. A secret to be told. An ancient tale of sacrifice and love. R&R please
1. An Introduction Sort of

Indigenous

Chapter 1: An introduction... sort of

The old Na'vi sat by the fire and waited for the younger generation to meet up and listen to her. She took a deep breath and smiled as they filed in, calmly taking their seats. She waited for them, silently watching as they played and laughed together. She stood and spread her arms wide, as if to take the whole world into her arms. She waited for silence and began...

"The Na'vi were a secretive people, they did not give their secrets lightly... at one time it was a matter of honour. To tell a secret that wasn't yours was the height of shame... it is just such a secret that both freed and imprisoned our people. Only once a generation may we tell this story... the ultimate secret.

"So long ago... before our grandfather's, grandfather's ancestors... we were not the only people on our world. We shared, with good grace, this home of ours with another race. The Tzi Kaah. They were similar to us, with green skin and red night eyes, but taller and more toned. The first recorded meeting between us was our clan leader and theirs. While we have a rigid connection with the plants above ground, the Tzi Kaah developed sprawling underground homes, with their connection to the rock and the art of crafting from both stone and ore. Thier leader was named Kai'duran, who was tall and slim, his red eyes scared our clan leader, who believed that he meant us harm. He sat by our fire and listened. For two months he did so, his tail twitching. Eventually he stood and aproached our clan leader... silence fell.

'"Hello, my name is Kai'duran, leader of the Tzi kaah. We have heard the mutterings of the stone, telling us of intelligent and noble creatures such as ourselves.' he bowed and smiled, showing needle like teeth 'It is an honour to meet you.' And the clan accepted him as a brother. From then on, we would trade for food. The strange subterranean food was like nectar, while they enjoyed our own sustinance. We would visit them in their halls, hewn from rock with powerful claws. Ahhh... these were good times, prosperous times. Sadly it was not to last... sadly... we could never repay them for what they did for us... and never shall we get the chance.

"My story... the great secret... will start with a young Na'vi hunter named Silvri, who is crouched on a tree branch one night..."

Silvri drew back her bow, aiming carefully down the arrow. She tried her mentor's old technique of feeling the shot and visualising it. She never had the patience for it before, but figured now was as good a time as any. It was at that moment she heard the noise, it was just above her and soft... as only a creature trying to be stealthy can be. She looked up slowly, trying to be silent. She saw glowing blue embers in the night, looking around. They fixed on her own in the pitch blackness, one closed momentarily and they continued their vigil, she couldn't think of any creature of her world which had those eyes. She looked up again, the area was dark... she was alone.

"Evening." Came a voice on her left, almost knocking her from the branch "Oh... sorry, hang on... I see you... that's it." The creature laughed nervously "My name's Nata 'ir."

"I see you." _I wish... _"I am Silvri... where are you?"

"On your left... see?" she felt a rough, calloused hand on her arm. She stiffened automatically, he let out a breath.

"Sorry... stonehands, my mother used to call them." the touch was removed and he fell silent, unsure what to do. She looked to her left, seeing the eyes, cyan now that they were close to her, and the vague outline of a shape, she thought it must be nice to see so well without light. "If you don't mind my saying... The Shadowed Forest is not the place your people usually can be found. Not that I'm ungrateful for the company, mind..."

"Above ground is not normally the place to find one of _your_ people either." Countered Silvri, heatedly. The glow from the eyes vanished as he turned away she heard him emit a strange noise before saying something Tzi Kaan.

"Annima kel durkl... bekkh dun maddok." _You were not to know... I will forgive you._

"I'm sorry?" she asked, worried she had offended him.

"Never mind...Would you like me to escort you back to your... Home... tree?" Then you could see me properly." he laughed, it was a rough sound with a rasping edge to it... Silvri hated it upon hearing it. But she smiled and looked him in the eyes.

"Yes, I would like that." she smiled and hopped lithely from the tree, he followed making a huge thump as he landed. She turned to him and raised an eyebrow.

"Bones of rock." he shrugged and began to run. He wasn't fast and Silvri took an early lead, but when she was flagging with tiredness he was plodding on at the same pace as before without a sign of excersion, Silvri rolled her eyes and kept pushing herself. Eventually they entered the luminescent part of the forest and she could see her companion clearly. he was tall and his ears long, evidently Tzi kaah. But his skin was grey rather than green, his brown markings black. His eyes were that curious cyan, not deep vermillion red. He was tall, even for Tzi kaah, standing at nearly thirteen feet, he was also more skinny than toned. His feet were bare, showing the perculiar foot thumbs and his hands had the double thumb that the Tzi kaah were famous for, one on each side of the hand.

"We are almost at Hometree, would you like to stay before going back to your home?" she asked, more for the sake of politeness than actual caring.

"I wouldn't want to be a burden..." he said hastily, giving Silvri the wrong idea.

"So my company means that little to you?" she huffed, preparing to go into a sulk.

"Nana'ei! Nana'ei..." _No! no... _"I'm just... different..." he dropped his eyes and scanned the floor "If you would like me to join you I shall." he said, more formal than he had been in the forest.

"Come, come! Eat with us, we haven't seen a Tzi kaah in a while." and he followed her towards the fire, frowning slightly. He hoped to slip away in the early morning... perhaps he could hide his shame until then.

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**Please R&R, first Avatar fic and the idea's just been knocking around in there since I saw the film. Taking guesses on what his "Shame" is... not what you think. There really is no clue in there so unless you're SERIOUSLY lucky I doubt you will. **

**Disclaimer: The Na'vi, Pandora and the inspiration behind the story belong to James Cameron. The Shadowed Forest, the Tzi kaah and the story itself belong to me.**


	2. Shisike om ketri tzi

Chapter 2: Shisike om ketri tzi

Silvri led Nata'ir into the Hometree and sat him by the fire, pushing some grubs his way, he smiled his needle-toothed grin and nodded as he took the leaf.

"Naana ato mala tor." _May this meal bless us._

She sat next to him and drank in his odd details, his strange cyan eyes and his tail, which matched the end of her queue with the neural connectors. It never stopped moving, she had seen other Tzi kaah when she was young and his movement seemed... out of place and his neural connectors seemed somehow dead.

"If you don't mind my saying you look... different to the other Tzi kaah I've seen." she looked away, not wishing to offend him.

"It's a long story, Silvri." he said dismissively

"I have time."

"The reason for this... difference..." he said the word as though it were offensive to him "Is that I am Shishike om ketri tzi, or Wanderer of endless night. My people tend not to venture above ground because here, like you coming down to us, we are cut off from the stone, that is the eyes, but my change came about for shameful reasons. When I was young, I was the eldest son of our Kaah'dizhin, or Stone watcher. So much was expected of me, and I rebelled. My people are connected at all times through a... sort of communal link that's always active. We work as one huge mind with many bodies. If you commit a horrific crime you are voted upon and exiled... they cut you off from the Hivemind. I have been cut off for three years, so my skin goes gray... my markings black. I get thinner as I lose the will to live. This has shamed my family... my mother resigned as Kaah'dizhin, begging them to exile her as well... They chose to be "merciful" and not condemn an innocent.

"The first few months are the hardest, being cut from the hive is hard. After that it gets easier, and you begin to think for yourself and you almost forget what it's like to have a part of your head devoted to the rest of your tribe." He finished and swallowed another grub, his cyan eyes keeping on the floor.

"What did you do?" she asked tentively

"Nothing." he said quickly, softening as he looked into her orange eyes "As I say, we are all connected, I was thinking of coming aboveground bfore my initiation as Dusha'shishi. This is a terrible crime, as if you are unprepared you will die and the whole tribe would feel it as though they died themselves. So, they take away your link to the Stonemind and let you go."

"That sounds horrific... but you seem to speak Na'vi fluently." she said, putting a hand on his thin shoulder.

"Dusha'shishi is a Foerst wanderer... I was almost through with my training when the trecherous thought crept into my head. I do not blame my people, so stuck in their traditions." He made a sign with his free hand and ate another grub. "The Na'vi always astounded me, I always wanted to meet one."

"Well, at least you have." she smiled "I'm sure my people would have accepted you here, whether or not you were..." she paused and scrunched up her face in thought "Ducha'shichi."

"Thank you... I always believed the Na'vi were more forgiving than my own people. It is getting late, I am sure I should be going."

"After three years of loneliness surely one day of company would be good?" she asked, her eyes wide and pleading.

"Where would I stay? I do not wish to be a burden..."

"You will not be, there is a spare hammock in my family's part of Hometree, you may sleep there."

"Naana ura ditila mala tora." _May your kindness bless you._ "Thank you."

"You are most welcome. Come, sleep."

_Nata'ir dreamt he was with his people, his skin was green and his markings brown. He could hear them all the way he could when he was of the Hivemind, all the petty grievances and all the laughter. He flexed his fingers and thumbs, touching both thumbs on his left hand together. He walked, but it was as if no one else could see him, or hear him... he was a ghost. As he had been when his Exile became official, but this was different. He could feel himself connected to the hive. He heard a voice in his mind... the newly opened part._

_"Nata'ir? My son?"_

_"Mother?" he asked, shocked._

_"Yes, my son... How did you get into the Hivemind? You have been gone for three years... your father held a private funeral for you... Praise the Stone you are safe. I have a message... pass it on to the Na'vi if you see one... The stone is screaming. Something is coming." He could feel the connection vanishing as he awoke._

_"But mother..."_

_"No buts, my dear, brave boy... You are leaving. I love you." And the connection severed and he felt the utter desolation of his exile as if it were fresh._

"I love you too..." he whispered to the night sky, realising he would not sleep again that night. He sat up and looked around, he would warn Silvri before leaving. the Na'vi would know what to do... as he closed his eyes his breathing slowed and he fell gratefully into a dreamless sleep.

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**Pretty sure none of you guessed it... :) if you like this story... Review! if you don't... Review! if you're completely indifferent... Review! it only takes a minute to write a short note.**

**Just in case anyone's wondering, I'm assuming the english words are in Na'vi and any wierd ones are in Tzi kaan to keep it simple. Thanks for reading. :)**


	3. Something is coming

Chapter 3: Something is coming

When Silvri awoke, she fixed her yellow eyes on the sleeping form of Nata'ir, who was still as a rock and twice as silent. His lip was curled, baring his sharp teeth. She gently nudged his thin shoulder, the reaction was unexpected. He leapt up, with a taught agility, and snarled, flexing his two-thumbed hands dextrously.

"It's me! Silvri!" she screamed, putting herself into a combat stance.

"Shekta imri ar!" _Get away from me!_ He panted a bit and relaxed his stance "Sorry, Silvri... nightmares." he shook his head, his long ears trembling "I'm sorry..." he reached out a hand to her, palm up, she took it, her huge eyes appraising him.

"What did you dream of?"

"I was back with the tribe, back within the Hivemind... My mother spoke to me. She said that the stone was screaming... that something bad was coming."

"Bad?"

"Yes, bad." he looked away "The stone has never screamed before... she whispers... she murmurs... but never screams. You must tell your people... you must warn them."

"About something 'bad' that could be anything?" she scoffed. "You tell the Tsahik yourself."

"Lead on." said Nata'ir, not in the least perturbed. She began to climb down towards the communal eating area, she led him straight to Kaha'ei, the Tsahik, and smiled.

"I see you, Tsahik." she said, quietly

"I see you."

"This Tzi kaah has a message for you." she waved Nata'ir forwards and stepped back, respectfully.

"Great Tsahik, I have a message from the Kaah'dizhin of my tribe." he said, head bowed.

"Speak." she said, unused to the formality.

"The Stone has been screaming and the Kaah'dizhin has seen a horror coming to our world. She cannot say what or when, but the Stone has never screamed before. She is worried. I do not know what you will do with this information, but I have delivered my message."

"When did you recieve this message?"

"Last night in my dreams."

"Then how is it that the Tzi kaah who is meant to be here to talk to us cannot pass it on himself?"

"There is a Tzi kaah here?" asked Nata'ir, suddenly distracted.

"Kyr." _Yes._ came a voice from behind him, he turned and his eyes lit up.

"Dar'el! Dizhik tik ekya ur!" _Dar'el! Good to see you!_ he reached over and embraced the slightly shorter Tzi kaah.

"Diz touchi sarra tik ur." _And the same to you. _"Seske aren ur, Shishike om ketri tzi?" _How are you, Exile?_

"Kyr, araba acha yrva."_ Yes, alive and well._

The Na'vi looked on as the two had this conversation, exchanging a look.

"This is not good, Nata'ir... if the Stone really is screaming then it must be bad." said Dar'el, switching to Na'vi again "It is, however, most fortuitous to see you again... you are three years... the longest ever recorded alive. You may return to the Stone if you wish."

"Dukatta terula rekk," _Don't tell them,_ he nodded his head towards the Na'vi "chisi ri ukatta chira beru unir." _but I sort of like being one._ Dar'el nodded, wisely

"Undestandable, the change might be too much for you, Nata'ir. But the people will not listen to your mother, they say they need proof... as if they did not hear the Stone screaming from the Hivemind. I will go and try and convince them to listen, you say you heard it in a dream? The stone must be calling you... I do not anticipate they will listen. However, you should stay here and work with the Na'vi. Dekka'bir." _Goodbye._ And he began to run towards the forest, at a slow but steady pace. Silvri turned to Nata'ir, her ears twitching. He heard it too and began to climb, fighting through the branches until he could see the sky, there... in the distance, was a star, burning and falling at an incredible pace."

Here the old woman stopped in her tale, looking at each youngling in turn. They were all looking on in awe, eyes wide, ears fluttering. After a moment she smiled and looked at them all again.

"This was when the first Sky People came." she said, with a heavy dramatic movement "I sahll see you all at the same time tomorrow for the rest of the tale. Goodnight." and she waved them away, smiling to herself. She had to remind herself that this might be the last time she would share this tale... the last time she would tell the secret.

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**Well, there goes another chapter. Thank you, Bagget00 for your kind words. Please review, or I might just 'forget' where my next chapter is going :P Kinda pleased with this one, I almost forgot it was a story being told by the Old Na'vi... Sorry about the extended use of Tzi kaan, It just made sense that the two members of their race would communicate in their own language rather than Na'vi. Thank you and good night.**


	4. Kaah'rizri

Chapter 4: Kaah'rizri

The next night the Old Woman sat by the fire, allowing it to flicker dramatically over her weathered face. The younglings had been coming in twos and threes, eager to hear the next part of the Great Secret. She waited until they were all there, smiling slightly.

"Where was I? Ah yes...

The star fell in a steady movement, slowing down the closer it came to the ground. Nata'ir looked at Silvri, fear in his cyan eyes.

"You must warn your people, it is time I broke my exile." he sighed and looked down

"What's wrong?" she asked, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"The law states that an exile returning is punishable by death, the only punishment they can give me outside the Hivemind." he smiled, grimly at her "So I could die before I deliver the message." He reached into the leather pouch at his hip and pulled out a pendant made of a green crystal with strange filligree on it.

"What is this?" she asked as he handed it to her

"This is my mind, my connection to the stone. I am giving it to you for... erm... keping safe?" he raised an eyebrow.

"Safekeeping?" her eyes began to water

"Kyr. Thank you... you showed me kindness and gave me hope for my own people. Thank you." he smiled again "Naana touchi Kaah mala ura, ukka ad iturime." _May the Stone bless you, now and forever._

"You don't have to go..." she whispered, reaching towards him, realising for the first time how much she would miss him.

"Kyr, I do. If you wear the pendant you will know where and how I am. I must deliver this message in person, lyra dekkh." _live well._

"Do you not want to stay with me? Do you not like me?"

"Nana'ei, ri wicor urnlok ri lyra durl ura ri cura, ri nakka'hai ura..." _No, I would spend my life with you if I could, I love you... _"Beggara takkai ri, ri utah calaha tik tiras." _Please understand, I have to do this._

She smiled sadly and wiped a tear from her eye. "I... I want you to stay... please..." He cupped her face in his hands and looked into her amber eyes.

"Keep the stone, it is me, and I will always be here with you." his upper thumbs wiped the tears from her cheeks while the lower ones stroked her neck. "I will be back. you hold all that is me in your hands, be careful with me." he smiled,his eyes lighting up. "Know this, come what may, I will always be here for you... in whatever capacity you wish. Asala'hoh." _Goodbye._

And he made for the forest, jumping down the tree in huge bounds. Next to her on the tree was the Tsahik, looking on with mild interest.

"You are in love?" she asked, eyeing Silvri with interest.

"I am." she said, simply.

"If this is truly an evil, then we must help our subterranean brethren, no? He is... different... he burns with a different light and moves to a different beat. He seems... unpredictable, Silvri."

"He does, all that and more. He is kind, honourable and caring. He is... everything." she sighed wistfully and looked at the green pendant in her hand.

"What is this?" demanded the Tsahik

"His..." began Silvri, but she was cut off by a gasp.

"His Kaah'rizri... to think I would see the day..." she looked at it in wonder, holding it like it were the most precious thing on the world.

"His what?"she asked, feeling a bit left out.

"His Stoneheart... Everything but the body of Nata'ir, is in here... mind, thoughts, emotions and memories. With this you have untold power over him. Treat it with care, as it seems your love has given you his heart."

"His heart?" she put it around her neck and felt him as though he were there with her, in her head.

_"Silvri?"_ came his voice _"You have accepted, thank the Stone. When I return, I am yours, mind, body and spirit."_ she felt his elation and happiness, mirroring her own.

_"When you return, I will accept you, Exile. You will be mine."_


	5. Or perhaps not

Chapter 5: Or perhaps not...

It took Nata'ir two days to reach The Gateway, his icy eyes were shining with intensity and determination. He stood before the gates and banged once, clenching his fists. The door opened.

"Shishike om ketri tzi. Ur natau fruuah te guerh abacch." _Exile. You are not supposed to be here._

"Kyr, uda ri tallalah." _Yes, but I can explain._

"Itah!" _Speak!_

"Ar girah huerrh arin tik Kaan hrazra'di. Kaah'orah Kahh tukala zheva touchi udakha. Touchi Kaah nurana tyra Tzi'ar ulakkah, Kahh'ei prevah rutakkh otarann. Ri takkha eerya Kaan'uterra irutah." _A blight has come to our world. Metal stones fell from the sky. The Stone knows it means us ill, she has been screaming. I must see Clan Leader now._

"Ur Uta'udakha ludunnh, Ri prezah ura unir futurrh opornh tik divarr, Shishike om ketri tzi." _You are over-ground addled, I give you one more chance to leave, exile. _

" Kyr, utannha. Kaah mala ura." _Yes, warrior. Stone bless you._

He walked away, leaving the warrior to his duties.

_"Silvri?"_ he asked in his head

_"Yes?"_

_"It did not work, how are things your end?"_

_"Going well... I think."_

_"You think?" _ he asked incredulously

_"Lots of arguing, we are not sure what to do. And the Sky People have started building things."_

_"Razh'kazhar!" _he swore_ "Where?" _ he saw a picture from Silvri's memory, smiling slightly. _"I will go there and have a see."_

_"They have strange metal sticks and shout in a strange language, whenever a creature comes too near they use the sticks to shoot... fire. Be careful, Nata'ir."_

_"I will be, Uterra om ri rizri."_

_"What was that?"_

_"I will be, Ruler of my heart."_

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**Again with the excessive use of Tzi Kaan... But I doubt that the Warrior would speak Na'vi. Now... I'm afraid to say this but I won't be updating without a few more reviews, so If you want to see the rest of The Great Secret... tell me about it! I honestly want opinions, be they good or bad. :) If you like this story and want to see the rest, tell me! Suggestions and Ideas welcome.**

**TACV**


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